The GOP's sequester messaging muddle

The Republicans’ message on the sequester couldn’t be clearer: They don’t have a unified one.

There seem to be three distinct camps: Most congressional Republicans appear willing to let the sequester happen since they can’t replace it in time. Others want the cuts to be even deeper. And still others wish that House Speaker John Boehner and President Barack Obama would just get in the same room and negotiate a deal, even if it includes the tax hikes that most Republicans abhor.

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But in the spin war with Obama — who has had one consistent message of late: that the massive, across-the-board spending cuts set to take effect March 1 will gut cherished programs — the message muddle has put the GOP at a disadvantage.

Even GOP strategist Karl Rove wrote last week in The Wall Street Journal that “congressional Republicans are simultaneously united divided and confused” about the sequester.

And so far, any attempts the Republicans have made to take their case to voters don’t seem to be working and the public is placing the blame squarely on them. Of course, it remains to be seen just what kind of real-world effects the sequester wreaks, or whether it becomes more of a yawn than a crisis to voters.

But a recent poll by USA Today and Pew Research Center found 49 percent of those surveyed would blame congressional Republicans if a deal isn’t struck, compared to 31 percent who would blame Obama and 11 percent who would think it’s both of their faults.

“To win public opinion to their side, Republicans will need a proactive strategy that shows the GOP is committed to restrain spending, make cuts as smartly as possible, and keep the government running,” Rove wrote in the WSJ. “It won’t be easy, given the president’s intrinsic advantages and bigger megaphone.”

The cards aren’t stacked against Republicans this time, GOP strategist Joe Brettell argued, explaining the lawmakers should stop using Capitol Hill press conferences and “take a page from the President’s playbook” to go directly to voters.

“Members need to cite specific examples in their local and regional media of places where the government has spent taxpayer money in an inefficient or wasteful manner,” Brettell said. “Linking the idea that this fight is about their constituent’s household budget, as well as their concern over the ballooning deficit, will ensure that the GOP wins not only the media battle, but conversations over water coolers and kitchen tables in their district.”

House Speaker John Boehner and the House GOP leadership represent the largest GOP faction — those who wish there was a better way to slash the deficit, but barring that, are willing to let the across-the-board cuts take effect on Friday as planned.